Many yoga positions and forms of yoga practice can be performed on a floor without any special implements. Yoga has been traditionally practiced with the practitioner changing positions on a mat, such as a tatami mat. However, traditional mats are not portable and many modern mats are uncomfortable and slippery when wet. Yoga practitioners have been known to use loops of strapping to help hold an appendage in a desired position. Current yoga mats and accessories fail to provide features ergonomic and efficient for the practice of yoga, such as personal surfaces, cushioning, sweat absorption, comfortable and dry gripping, aid in attaining positions, compactness, a stable foundation, and/or positional reference frames.
Yoga practitioners typically arrive at group practice with personal yoga mats. These mats can stake out a location on the floor for the individual, provide some cushioning, and provide a personal contact surface for each practitioner. However, these mats can be unstable, slippery, unhygienic, and provide few functional benefits beyond presentation of a homogenous padded surface.
One common type of yoga mat is a sheet of polyvinyl foam. The sheet is unrolled on the floor to serve as a yoga mat. However, as yoga can be strenuous the mat can become contaminated with sweat. This can be particularly troublesome for practitioners of bikram yoga, wherein the exercises are practiced in hot environments. Sweat can accumulate on the hydrophobic mats making them slippery, uncomfortable, and unhygienic.
Another problem with typical yoga mats is their lack of stability. During dynamic transitions between yoga positions, supporting body parts can slip on the mat or the mat can slip across the floor. This problem can make practice of some positions difficult of hazardous.
During the learning process, or in the practice of difficult positions, there can be a need for an extended reach or additional support. Yoga practitioners can use looped cords, such as those described in international publication number WO 03/018139, Method and Apparatus for Performing Stretching Exercises, by Flynn; or, U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,255, Device for Stretching and Yoga, to Chan-Rouse. However, these yoga straps provide only the support function and can have slippery, uncomfortable grips. There are only so many yoga implements practitioners can carry. A clutter of devices in the practice room can disturb the serenity of the traditional yoga environment.
In view of the above, a need exists for a yoga mat that provides a combination of moisture absorbance, comfort, and stability. It would be desirable to have yoga straps and mats that contribute multiple benefits beyond only cushioning the surface or providing crude support. Benefits could be derived from yoga mats and straps tailored to unique combinations of yoga practitioner needs. It could be useful to have yoga straps that can provide other functions associated with yoga. The present invention provides these and other features that will be apparent upon review of the following.